There was incredible time in the AquaDuck. There were kids’ clubs that left the grown ups alone and we indulged in that one thing every parent can never get enough of.

Hot dinner!

There was tons of great times on the ship, but it was the time spent on Castaway Cay that was priceless.

That was also when the camera died, and with no cellphones, we were left to just enjoy the sun and water.

And sun.

Lots and lots of sun.

Did I mention it was sunny there?

I’m NOT wearing a shirt!

Downside:

• No doors on the Disney Dream had handicap access so it was always tricky getting in/out.
• There were several areas that were uneven and had no notification or there were places that caused my wheelchair to jerk me to a halt.
• Because there were a large number of kids on board, so we had to deal with kids running out in front of me, almost getting hit, pushing the wheelchair out of the way, and remembering where there are lots of kids, there is lots of noise.
• I expected the Internet at-sea to be slow, but it was very anti-Apple anything (mac, ipad, touch), even to the point they offered me a pc laptop if I continued to have problems connecting (but it was only for work, only twice twice a day, so MEH)

Upside:

• Trading my wheelchair in for a Sand-Chair allowed me to go, not only to the sand, but sit in the ocean for the first time since my strokes.  It was incredible.
• Wave phones! When we were out at sea it was too expensive to have our cell phones with us. Each room comes with two phones that work anywhere on the ship.
• Every restaurant, store, play area, EVERYTHING we tried had a handicap ramp, even if the doors weren’t handicapped accessed
• Kid Club Safety – the hoops you have to go through to get a child into a kid club is nothing compared to getting one out. Each child is fitted with an electronic wrist band they keep for the duration of the cruise. Safety FTW!
• This is DISNEY!! The do it Disney-style, Disney-speed and Disney-glamor.

What it boils down to is the fact that a Disney Cruise is meant for families.

And for families, it’s a glorious treat!

It was the last thing I remember.

So I was thinking about a family trip. Something to celebrate the fact that our family was no longer dealing with cancer treatment, making it through therapy and still together TO CELEBRATE.

I talked to Laura, who became our fairy godmother…complete with wand and pixie dust. She made everything happen in a whirl as only a godmother can.

We counted down the days.

We looked at pictures.

We made plans.

Our day came. The girls took their first flight. We waited until the ship came into view.

And it was all our eyes could see.

The Disney Dream.

This is just part 1!

The thrill of a job completed just isn’t doing it for me anymore.

Take laundry, for instance.

One might think that just the fabulous smell of fresh clean clothing would be enough. Or maybe the knowledge that YES, those underwear are, in fact, clean…without the sniff test!  Even the lack of “I have nothing to wear” whining in the morning SHOULD be reason enough to desire to do laundry.

It isn’t.

It’s come to this:

OH YEAH.  Thursday I’m getting on one of these shiny little numbers, a Disney Cruise Line ship for a few days with some with some other fun blogger ladies….no, not with my family…I know. I SUCK.

And they say I get to spend some time here…Castaway Cay.  I might get lost and stay a while. Not saying I will….just saying something could happen, you know?

But before I can get on the boat? I have to finish the laundry and a to-do list a mile long.  I might even time myself to see what I can do with the right motivation.

And?

The BEST.PART.EVER?

There’s a LOT of water involved in this trip.

Um…swimming, beaches, snorkeling…and they have denied my request to wear sweatpants during these outings.

I’m supposed to wear one of these:

Which, I KNOW I just said I was going to think better about my body self-image. But seriously. I think we all know it’s going to feel a lot less:

and waaaay too much this:

Sexy, ain’t I?